


Don't let them know you see them

by Featherly



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Ghosts, Horror, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Spooky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-07-18 09:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7309309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherly/pseuds/Featherly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce adopted the orphaned Dick Grayson because he saw himself in the boy. Alfred told him it was a bad idea, not because he detested the boy, but because he didn't believe he could handle the things that lurked in the manor at night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Thanks Mr Wayne. I heard you paid for all this.” muttered Dick Grayson, indicating his parent’s caskets with a lazy hand gesture.

Bruce saw something in Dick, had seen it in him since the night his parents fell to their deaths; a thirst for vengeance, for justice against the man responsible for their demise. “think nothing of it” was his reply, but Dick didn’t seem to hear him anyway.

The Wayne family butler stood next the empty back row of seats with a mourning look on his face, but it wasn’t from the funeral.

“I’m going to offer it to him” whispered Bruce so only Alfred could hear. Alfred looked at him with a disturbed look on his face.

“I really don’t think that’s wise sir. He’s so young, it seems like he couldn’t handle them at all.”

“Nonsense. He’s one of the strongest boys I've seen... Look at him. He’s alone, and he isn’t even crying at his own parent’s funeral! He’s in shock, so much like I was... I want to help him the way you helped me...”   
Bruce looked at Alfred with sad eyes, eyes that seemed to be asking permission from someone they didn’t need to. Alfred looked back at Dick, standing there alone. He had no reason not to cry, yet there he was staying strong for nobody.

“He is strong... But what lives in that manor... They could scare the poor boy to death.”

“I’ve lived there my whole life. As long as he follows the same rules we have, he should be fine.”

“You had the opportunity to understand them from a very young age. He may be too old now.”

“Well we will just have to wait and see... If he accepts my offer that is.” 

Both men looked over at the orphaned acrobat, and waited for him to finish his mourning there for hours before approaching him. Dick agreed to allow Bruce to adopt him, but it was done with a heavy heart, and a desperate need for a turn of good luck.  
♢♢♢

Dick was awestruck by the manor as they approached it. It was bigger than any building he had ever been in, as he so enthusiastically repeated to Alfred. Alfred agreed that the house was “quite large,” but other than that, he hardly spoke. 

Dick was out of the car before it had even stopped conpletely. Alfred wanted this to be a happy day, a wonderful occasion; a new member of the family, his very first grandson’s homecoming. He wanted to be jumping for joy with the kid, but he just couldn’t, not knowing what he was in for.

Dick rushed up the steps two at a time, making Alfred’s heart skip a beat. He watched the boy as he stood there, waiting for Alfred’s permission to open the door. When he stepped through the barrier between the outside world and the manor, he would be cursed. He would be cursed as everyone else had been.

He stood there momentarily shellshocked by the thought, but shook it away in favour of opening the trunk of the car in order to retrieve Dick’s few bags. He picked up two at a time and placed them on the ground, sparing a glance up at the highest floor where he knew he saw a sudden movement. 

Alfred wiped his brow and called out to Dick. “Master Grayson, could you please come and retrieve some of these bags. I’m afraid an old man can only carry so much at one time.”  
“Sure thing Mr Pennyworth” Came the youthfull reply. Alfred could have handled all of the baggage and more. It was all he could do to prolong the inevitable... Maybe there was still time to change Bruce’s mind...

Dick jumped down the stairs and back to the car next to Alfred, who was again looking at the topmost floor of the manor. Dick followed his gaze but saw nothing.   
“Mr Pennyworth, are you alright?” asked Dick, worried that he was about to have a heart attack or something.

“Yes Master Grayson... Could you help me find my wallet in the car please?”

Dick recoiled slightly at the odd request. “yeah, of course. Sure.”

They sat in the front of the car, looking underneath the seats. Dick searched hard, and almost hit his head when Alfred began talking again. 

“Dick, there is something of the utmost importance you must know about this house.” 

The rushed tone made Dick’s heart beat faster. 

“Things... Happen in this house, and the second you step through that door, there are rules that must be abided by. First of all, you must not talk about this meeting, got it?” Dick nodded his head frantically.

“Second of all, strange things will happen, things you cannot explain. You must not talk about these things either, ever!” Dick nodded his head again, obviously confused by this old man’s babblings.

“Third of all, and most importantly, do not let them know that you see them. Pretend you don’t, and if you scream or something, pretend theres a spider, or pretend you THOUGHT you saw something, but again, do not let them know that you see them.” 

Dick’s eyes went wide, and he began sweating. Bruce couldn’t be that bad, could he? Alfred reached behind him and from his back pocket he pulled his wallet, before he got out of the car. He thanked Dick and gave him some of his own luggage. He walked up the stairs with the young boy behind him, took as long as he could opening the door, and stepped inside. 

The moment Dick crossed the threshold, a shiver ran down his spine.

♢♢♢

“Dick, I’m so glad you came here!” exclaimed Bruce bringing the boy into a hug. “Come now, I’ll show you to your new room!”  
He lead the way through the house, showing Dick the different rooms, allowing him to drop his belongings in his own room.  
Bruce spent the afternoon showing him both of their bedrooms, his study, his bathroom, the clubroom, the spare rooms, and everywhere Dick would go eventually. Finally, bruce showed Dick his own bathroom, stocked with a rich man’s shampoo, conditioner, lotions, razors (for when he would need to shave in around 5 years,) and the scented soaps Bruce enjoyed indulging himself in often. 

Dick smile throughout the introduction, wondering the whole time what Mr Pennyworth had been talking about in the car. Nothing strange had happened so far...

“Oh! I haven’t shown you the gym yet!” cried Bruce, leaving the room suddenly. Dick took one more look around, focusing on himself in the mirror for a few seconds longer. His hair was already getting long... He would have to get someone to cut it soon. 

He shifted his eyes up for a moment, though he wasn’t too sure why, and was startled to see a girl there. She was pale with a green tinge, had shoulder length brown hair, and had so many shadows covering her face that it looked like she had no eyes. Dick let out a cry before turning around to apologise to the girl, even though she was the one who startled him... But was surprised to find nobody else there.

Bruce reentered the room, a fearful look in his eye. He took one look at Dick and noted his position before taking a sheet from the toilet roll and squishing it against the wall where Dick was looking. “It was just a spider Dick. No need to scream.” the look on his face had become threatening, to say ‘don’t let it happen again.’  
“yeah” said Dick, his heart racing and his body shivering, “Just a spider.”


	2. Chapter 2

Dick Grayson lay in his bed on his back with his eyes shut tightly, too afraid to open them even a little bit.

He had seen the girl in the mirror, and Mr Wayne knew he had seen her. He sent Dick straight to bed after the whole ordeal even though it was only 9 oclock. Being a circus performer, Dick was usually still somersaulting through the air, so the sudden stillness so early made him a little jittery.

Bruce let Dick eat dinner in his room under the circumstances he ate it quickly and didn't leave the room, but it was only for that night. Dick hadn’t touched any of the food but instead crawled into his new bed. He found it impossible to get comfortable or warm, but he didn’t dare toss or turn.

The boy began to nod off hours later, having forced himself into a comfortable position. He moved his leg down, brought his other one up, shifted his hip oh so slightly, tried desperately not to make the springs creak. He believed he had done it, which is when he began to nod off, when the air in the room became noticeably thinner.

Dick tried to control his breathing; in, out, slowly, steadily, carefully. A sound could be heard in the room, a sound like a bird pecking at his window. Dick stiffened up in his bed focusing on not reacting noticeably to whatever it was. It could be a bird, but it could be something else.

A second bird joined in on the tapping, but Dick refused to react, although he was terrified. Eventually, a third bird joined in, each hitting the glass one right after the other in a ‘ta- ta- tap’ sequence.

Finally, a fourth tapping source could be heard, and Dick finally recognised it to be a hand, someones fingers tapping on the glass as one would in a display of boredom. The sound was stiff, not echoing inside the room as it would have done if it were coming from outside.

The sound continued for some time before it moved around the room slowly. It went from the window along the wall, along the second wall opposite from Dick’s bed, and to the wall the door was on. There was tapping on the heavy wood, but Dick still refused to look at it, or let it know he heard it.

There was a sudden deafening silence, a pause where Dick considered opening his eyes. A minute passed by with nothing happening, then two minutes. Then three, and ten, and twenty. Dick started thinking it was safe for him to open his eyes, almost did it, until the door creaked open wide, and slammed shut. 

Dick spasmed and hoped whatever had come in his room hadn’t seen the movement. He could hear his heart beat, could hear and feel the pulsing in his skull. There was a rush of adrenaline, wasted on staying still. 

He let himself relax more, could feel the tension beginning to leave his muscles, tried not to react when he heard heavy breathing from at least three sources around his bed. Whatever was in his room, however many there were, they were all positioned around him, staring at him while he tried to sleep.

♢♢♢

Dick refused to open his eyes, even when the sun was shining through his window. His heart hadn’t stopped beating hard throughout the night, leaving him with a pain in his chest. The cold had persisted on Dick, even though the heating was on all night and there was no reason at all to be cold.

Alfred knocked on Dick’s door and entered the room making the boy jump suddenly, but he still didn’t open his eyes or sit up.

“Master Dick? It’s me.” 

Dick still didn’t move from where he was. Alfred Could see that Dick was drenched in sweat, and he could smell urine. He touched Dick’s shoulder and the boy flinched.

“Come now Richard.” said Alfred touching the younger’s face tenderly. “They can’t touch you if you haven’t seen them.”

“How do I know they don’t think I saw them and are pretending to be you?” blurted out Dick before he could stop himself.

“Because I haven’t thrown you out the window or even possessed you. Now get out of what you’re wearing so I can change these sheets” demanded Alfred as he ripped the sheets off Dick’s cold body. 

Dick brought his legs up and curled into a ball. He was shivering, but Alfred didn’t have time for that at the moment. For the time being, there were more important matters to attend to.

The butler took some slacks, a shirt, and a sweater vest to Dick’s bathroom and placed a large fluffy towel next to the pile. 

“Please have a shower soon Richard, we have lots to do today” said Alfred poking his head around Dick’s door.

Dick finally sat up. He needed a shower. He needed a shower in the creepy bathroom where he saw that girl. 

Dick went light headed for a moment, the absense of sleep contributing to it, before he finally remembered where he was, and what had happened. He suddenly went cold again. He got up from the bed and put his back against the wall so he could see every inch of his room.

He studied his surroundings, looking for any hint that they had been there, that he wasn’t crazy. He left the window until last. 

Dick saw, even from a distance, fingerprints in the centre of the window. A set of four that created a trail. Where the window meets the wall and all along the wall were nail marks where fingernails had dug into it, creating a trail all the way to the door. Dick had missed them on his first scan of the room, not really knowing what he was looking for then.

Dick shifted along the wall, exiting through the door quickly. He walked down the hall filled with tension, afraid that anything could jump out at him at any moment.

He stood outside the bathroom door, stalling himself from going into the first place he had been ‘haunted’. 

He didn’t know how long he stood there accumulating all of his courage before he finally opened the door wide, an eerie squeak from the hinges.

From his place at the door, he could see the side of the cabinet, the side of what had let him see his first ghost. He stared at it for some time, before removing his sweat drenched shirt and throwing it over the mirror. He didn’t want to see it again.

The water was blissful on Dick’s skin, giving him the warmth he so desperately needed. Now he kept his eyes opened at every moment, even when some soap went in them, so that he could be prepared to run if anything happened.

Dick was used to short showers, so he was out after a mere 5 minutes. He wrapped the towel around his bare waist before stepping onto the bath mat. He stood there for a moment completely aware of all the space between himself and the wall behind him, then jumped suddenly at a sound above him; a thump as if something heavy had been dropped.

As far as Dick was aware, he was on the top floor, so whatever had made that sound must have been in the attic, but Mr Pennyworth and Mr Wayne didn’t have any business up there... Did they?

The sound happened again, making a shiver run down the boy’s spine. He moved faster to get his clothes on and ran out the door and down the stairs, finding Alfred and Bruce sharing a silent breakfast at the dining table.

“There’s something in the attic” exclaimed Dick with a shaking voice. 

“It's probably just a bat.” murmered Bruce, glaring at Dick from his place.

“It was too loud! It sounded like something being dropped-”

“It was nothing Dick” yelled Bruce, standing up and towering over the child. Dick jumped at the sudden aggression, not too sure where it was coming from.

There was a pause, where Dick seemed like he was about to cry, or faint, or do something, but was too shellshocked to do it. He had never been yelled at like that...

Bruce grunted and stood from his place. “Your sweater’s backwards” said Bruce before he left the room. Dick watched him go and averted his eyes from the place Bruce had been, to his feet. There was a moment when Dick just stood there unsure of what do do with himself, but soon enough he took off his sweater and turned it to put it on the right way. He didn’t look at Alfred, but the older man never took his eyes off Dick.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks passed before Dick could attend school. Within those two weeks, odd events occured every night and the boy did his best to not let them know he could see them, though it was difficult.

Dick learnt their routines quickly, doing his best to work around them as he hated being scared; being forced to confront the unknown with no escape. He discovered that they became most active after 9 o’clock at night, appearing in hallways and rooms before Dick entered them, always when he didn’t expect them. 

While they prefered to become active at night, that didn’t stop some of them in the day. In the day, they preferred the topmost part of the house, since it was often dark and perfect for outsides weather. Considering this, they were still very unpredictable, and that was what Dick hated the most.

He would never forget walking out of his bathroom on his second night in the manor right on nine o’clock to be confronted by a woman, completely white with black rims around her sockets containing no eyes. Her hair was long and black, and would have gone down to the back of her knees if she was standing up. But she wasn’t standing up at all. Instead, she was on her knees, her arms supporting some of her weight. She leant slightly to the left, and her head twisted so her ear was on her shoulder. Her mouth was wide open in what could have been a scream. Her skin appeared to be flaking off, though it looked wet at the same time. She made a sound someone would make if they were choking, often with sharp intakes of breaths, but the breaths sounded wet; like she was drowing.

In that moment, Dick froze. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened in a silent scream. He felt the blood rush from his head, suddenly couldn’t breath.

The woman began crawling towards Dick with grappling reaches of her arms. Every time her arms moved, a cracking could be heard. The boy’s mouth didn’t close. A high pitched sound came out of his throat and his eyes began to water just before he fainted. Before he fell backwards unconscious, the woman began speeding towards him, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He woke up to Alfred and Bruce standing over him. Bruce was rubbing Dick’s cheek with a thumb, a content look on his face. Dick felt numb in his head, making him open his eyes slowly. He could see a third person looking down on him whenever bruce of Alfred shifted enough; the girl from the mirror. Alfred told everybody in the room that Dick passed out from the emotional upset he still had from his parent’s death, trusting the girl with greenish white skin and brown hair to pass it on to anyone else in the manor.

The other nights in the manor had been similar, though less severe. Dick had totaled 7 ghosts he was aware of, though ghosts didn’t seem like the right word for them. Creeps was better.

Of these creeps were 2 women, 1 man, and four unknowns. The girl in the mirror and the creep down the hall were the women, the four unknowns had visited Dick on his first night and had visited often since, and the man was the creepiest creep of them all.

The creepiest creep liked to watch Dick in his most intimate moments. He first discovered this creep as a silhouette behind the shower curtain when he was showering on his fifth day in the manor. He disappeared when Dick pulled the shower curtain open to retrieve a bar of soap, but promptly reappeared when he closed it again straight after, however he was much closer on this second appearence.

Another time this creep stood in the corner of Dick’s room while he got changed from one set of clothes to another. Dick pretended not to notice him as he was instructed, but he could always feel the eyes stabbing into him from that corner. He had seen the mans face; he was old, looked like he had been in a war. His grey eyes always looked angry, and his mouth mimicked Gotham’s batman fellow in how thin and mad it always seemed to be under any circumstance. Dick also knew this man’s eyes trailed down to his privates at every opportunity. If Dick ever discovered masturbation, it would be done under the watchful eyes of the creepiest creep.

The four unknowns were robed figures with yellow lights for eyes and long, curving claws which they intwined together. These ones only appeared after 9 o'clock, disappearing around 5:30 in the morning. They appeared every night in the same room, often crowding Dick’s bed, but sometimes lurking in a corner.

On the night the twisted creep made Dick faint, Alfred led Dick to his room and turned on the light. This was the first time Dick saw them standing there. He stopped where he stood and tried to act casual in where he looked. Alfred made it possible to get Dick to bed. Under his guise, Dick managed to not make them realise that he had seen them, that he could always see them.

Dick set his alarm for 7 o’clock the night before his first day at school. When he woke up, he dressed quickly while the old man watched from in front of the window. He walked down the hallway, ignoring the wet choking sound coming from behind one of the doors. He ate fast and was in the car before Bruce was ready to drive him.

This would be the first time Dick was allowed to leave the property since his arrival, and boy was he ecstatic about it. He was jumping up and down in his seat, a dumb grin on his face.

“Bit excited are you?” asked Bruce as he got into the drivers seat of the car.

“So excited! Can’t wait! Can finally get away from-”   
Bruce slammed a hand over Dick’s mouth, effectively stopping the rest of his sentence.

“Getting away from the cold house does sound very wonderful.” finished Bruce sparing a glance at the rear view mirror. “Dick, can you please check out the back window for any obstructions I could have missed?” 

Dick had already learnt to do as Bruce asked with no questions, so he turned his body over the back of his seat, and found the twisted creep. Dick didn’t react, but he felt himself go cold. “no. No there’s nothing there Bruce.”

Dick looked forward for the entire trip and didn’t turn his head even a little bit. There was silence for most of the trip, the only sound inside the car being horrible attempts at breathing. Dick was out of the car before Bruce had come to a full stop in front of the school. He didn’t say goodbye, or thankyou, but instead ran into the building as fast as he could.

♢♢♢

The last class of the day was art. Dick had never been deeply invested in the subject, but the teacher was one he came to like over any other. Dick had entered the class in the middle of a project, so his would be smaller but just as meaningful as any other student’s.

All they had to do was create a painting of their family in the way they, themself, saw them. Looking at other students work gave Dick a good insight into the people he had only just met. A girl painted a picture of herself and who must have been her grandma next to three graves; both of her parents and a smaller one with a boy’s name.

A boy painted a picture of who must have been his mother and father looking afraid on the left half of the canvas, and himself and his older brother on the other half. The brother had his arms around the smaller figure , and Dick couldn’t help but notice the position of one of his hands being right over his classmate’s crotch region. Dick knew exactly what it meant. His parents had warned him against the things people could have done to him on their travels, especially in Gotham. 

There were plenty of happy families amongst his classmates too, and after seeing everybody else’s work, he was ready to start on his own. Dick painted his mother and father with yellow halos around their heads. He painted Bruce and Alfred too with himself between his first family and his new one, all of them holding hands and smiling. It was a rushed piece, but up to standards with a majority of his 10 and 11 year old classmates. At the end of the class everyone’s work was put on display, and the teacher went around asking everyone who they painted, and why they depicted them the way they did.

The students watched her go around to each piece of art, anticipating the moment she would approach them. Half way through her round she went over to Dick. He watched her as she looked at it, but became puzzled by the look of confusion on her face.

“Who are these people Richard?” she asked.

“It’s Mum, Dad, Mr wayne, and his butler-friend, Alfred. And that’s me in the middle.” 

“Yes that’s all fine, but I was talking about this lot over here next to, Alfred did you say?”

Dick finally looked at what he had painted, but recoiled when he saw a green girl with brown hair, an apparently naked man, four oval figures with yellow eyes, and a white person with a mass of long black hair.

“...I don’t see what you mean.” said Dick before ripping his canvas from where it was and destroying it before throwing it away. He took his bag, swung it over his shoulder, and left the room before anyone else could say anything.

Dick opened his locker to find the twisted creep curled up and staring at him through empty eye sockets. He took the book he needed from under her and closed the locker, muffling the gurgling she made. He walked through the hall, not looking into the full classrooms where the twisted creep peered at him through the small window. 

Dick sat on the school’s bottom step waiting for Bruce to pick him up. Students from his class watched him as they passed by, wanting to say something, but at the same time not wanting to, fearing his sudden outburst. Dick didn’t look at any of them as they went by. He was too caught up in his problems.

Bruce arrived an hour after the final bell had rung, and when he pulled up Dick got into the car. There was silence for the duration of the trip, save for the choked breathing coming from the back seat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied Underage chapter, this is your warning

Dinner was just after 8:30 the night of Dick’s first day of school, roast pork to celebrate the start of Dick’s growing education. Unfortunately for the boy, it was only him and Alfred for dinner. Bruce had work to attend to, some project he had been working on since before Dick was even there. This meant one less guide for Dick, meant that the creeps would be harder to not notice.

Dick shifted a sprout around his plate while he thought about the day’s events. He wasn’t safe anywhere. He couldn’t escape from the horrors of the house no matter where he went, or what he did... Was he stuck with them forever? There was no way they couldn’t have realised that yes, they could be seen. Dick hadn’t given it away too many times, but the thing at school. His art teacher could have ruined everything. Did they work like that?

“Is there a problem with your food master Dick?” asked Alfred, genuine concern in his voice.

“No, no the foods fine. Im just not that hungry tonight Alfred.” said Dick as he stood up from his seat. “May I be excused?”

“Yes. I'll put it in the fridge and you can take it to school tomorrow for lunch.” 

Alfred stared at Dick as he left, but Dick never looked the butler in the eye.

♢♢♢~~

There were five minutes to nine o’clock as Dick settled into his freshly made bed. As he always did, he shut his eyes as tightly as he could with his covers over his head.   
4 minutes to 9. He moved himself into the most comfortable position, but it never was that comfortable. 3 minutes to 9. He tried his hardest to get to sleep quickly, so hopefully it wouldn't even matter that he wasn’t comfortable. 2 minutes to 9. He stayed still no matter what happened. 1 minute to 9. The tapping started at his window.

The tapping moved around the room as it had done every night. The door opened, but this time it closed carefully, not slammed shut as it usually did. Dick breathed in and out, in and out. He had it under control. ‘I’m gonna be a pro by the end of the year’ thought Dick, and he was becoming good at not letting them know. He was becoming less aware of them, their presense being just another part of his life. 

He had learned that in 6 minutes from now, their breathing would surround Dick as it had every other night. Or he thought it would. 

Dick wasn’t prepared to hear the coughing of dry lungs, the creepy old man from the war... What was he doing there? He had no business in Dick’s room in that moment. All the boy was doing was sleeping, and he wasn’t even sleeping naked or anything.

The old man touched Dick’s face, and Dick felt him. He felt the ghost, something he shouldn’t have been able to feel. It wasn’t cold, and it wasn’t hot. It felt like liquid on his face but harder, like silk wrapped around something solid. 

The creep moved a ghostly thumb to Dick’s mouth, inserting it though he shouldn’t have been able to. He felt the old man’s finger on his tongue, oh god he could feel it. His saliva coated the digit, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He used his other hand to feel Dick’s body, moved the hand along his side, rested it on his hip. All he had to do was shift his position. Thats all he had to do, he just had to pretend he was dreaming, tossing and turning as he slept. It was so simple, so why wasnt he moving? Just... Just turn.

A hand went to Dick’s chest and rubbed, creating a sudden hitch in the boy’s breath. At first he worried the creep knew Dick felt him, but the rubbing didn’t stop. His other finger was still probing Dick’s mouth; that would be easier to remove.

Dick moved his head oh so slightly further into his pillow, the finger slipping out of his mouth with a slick sound. The rubbing stopped, the creeps hand sat on his chest like dead weight. The creep kept his hand in place as he moved around Dick’s bed behind the headboard, sliding the covers off as he went. He positioned himself behind Dick in his bed, spooning the boy like one would his lover. 

One hand slipped under Dick’s body through the mattress, resting again on his newly exposed chest. The other hand trailed down his front to his...

There had to be something Dick could do, oh god there had to be another option besides ‘sit there, let it happen.’ He had been warned, warned that this stuff happened in Gotham, warned that things happened in the house. 

Dick had reacted naturally to the sensation of the creep’s hand on him. He gave a tired, high pitched moan and began breathing shorter and harder. Being young and new to the experience, Dick finished quickly. As he finished, his door opened.

Light from the hallway seeped into Dick’s room and was visable through his closed eyelids. He assumed it was his usual uninvited guests, the four creeps with the glowing eyes. He was truely helpless now. Someone was going to realise he wasn’t asleep, especially now they could see him in the light from the hall.

Heavy footsteps approached Dick’s bed, and the tears he had been holding in fell down his cheeks. He couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t care anymore. Let them know. 

“I see you.” said Dick. “You hear me you bastards. I SEE YOU!!”

He said this, but his eyes still hadn’t opened. His throat felt tight, and he heart felt like someone had a grip on it, was squeezing as hard as they could. Someone gripped the pants below his thighs and pulled them up gently. His shirt was brought back down, and he was lifted so his legs were wrapped around the intruder’s hard waist.

“Bad dream, Dick.” said Bruce to the younger orphan with a hitch in his throat, his arms around Dick tightly as if something was going to take him away at that moment. Dick responded by wrapping his own arms around Bruce’s broad shoulders and gripping his... Cape(?) as hard as he could, burying his head into the thick neck, continuing to cry.

♢♢♢~~

Bruce carried Dick to his own bedroom. He was so young... He didn’t think the old man would do something like that... Maybe it was a mistake bringing him in at all... No. But even if it was, it was too late now. He was cursed too.

He attempted to place the younger boy onto his King sized bed as carefully as he could, like a mother with a newborn. Dick refused to let go of Bruce, or open his eyes, or even remove his legs from around the older man’s comfort, so instead he sat on the edge himself and just hugged his new ward. He had never hugged anyone like this platonically; it felt nice.

Dick was still sobbing quietly into Bruce’s shoulder, was still sobbing twenty minutes later. Then he began to slow down, to regain himself. He still leaned into Bruce and didn’t open his eyes. Then he finally spoke in a small voice.

“How... How did you know where he was?”

“He wasn’t watching me shower” was the reply.

Dick considered this for a moment.

“But... But you had a shower at like, six oclock. You didn’t need a shower... Are you lying to me!?”  
Dick sounded more and more choked up as he spoke.  
“You didn’t need to have a shower... Are you even Bruce! You could be one of those creeps. You could be one of them pretending to be... No. I don't even care any more. I hope you are one. I hope you know I see you! I hope you know!”

Bruce pulled Dick back a little. “open your eyes. Look at me.” He didn’t sound forceful, or even angry. He sounded like he wanted to explain.

“...no.”

“You’ll see why I needed a shower if you open your eyes.”

Dick opened one eye squinting. Bruce’s outline was a grey blur, so he opened it a little more. When it was wide enough, he saw blood. Blood on his face, blood on his armour. Armour. The grey armour with a black bat on the chest. Bruce Wayne was Batman.

“You’re... You....” 

“I needed the shower to wash this crap off. I was going to use the one in the cave, but I think I will use the one here in my bedroom. You stay here for the night. I'll be right in there, and I will leave the door opened in case... Something else happens.”

Bruce lay Dick down on the bed, having the boy finally relenquish his grip. He brushed a hand against the boy’s face before going to his bathroom for a shower. As he stripped himself of the Batsuit, he became aware of a presense. He looked towards the mirror and found the old man standing in front of it, jerking himself off as he watched the man in his early 20s reveal his body.

Good. If he was watching Bruce, it meant that Dick was safe. He brushed his hand over his chin as if contemplating his facial hair, before shrugging and stepping into the shower.

When he finished, he stepped out of the shower to find the old man still standing there. Now he was rubbing his balls with both hands like it was the best feeling in the world. He got dressed slowly, pulling on a pair of baggy track pants and a short sleeved shirt.

Bruce walked right past the old man and slammed the door. He got into bed with Dick, sliding his hands underneath the boy, hugging him from behind as a father would his child. He put his chin on top of Dick’s head, and Dick leaned into the embrace with need. 

“I’m sorry Bruce.” whispered Dick.

“Nothing that happened tonight was your fault... If anything, it was mine for bringing you into this place.”

“...You’re Batman.”

“Yes. But we will talk about that tomorrow. For now, sleep.”

“...Ok.” 

♢♢♢~~

Bruce woke up with a numb arm and Dick’s head layed across it. He assessed his position, realising that he couldn’t possibly move without waking the boy up. So he rolled onto his back and stared up at the plain ceiling. Dick now knew. Maybe he had a right to know, since he lived there too... He was mature. He wouldn’t tell anyone.

Bruce turned his head and saw that it was nine thirty in the morning. Dick was already half an hour late for school... But that didn’t matter today. Today he could have the day off. Maybe even tomorrow. And the next day.

Dick groaned in his sleep and changed his position so he was cooped back under Bruce’s arm, his head resting slightly on the other’s chest. Bruce looked at the ten year old under his arm, and as he did so, he thought ‘... What have I done.’

He resumed his investigation of the ceiling, and stopped on one spot. One spot in the roof where there was a hole, as there was one in every room under the attic. In this hole, there was a wide, white eye staring at Bruce while he stared right back, a nonchalant look on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce lay awake in bed for two hours before Dick finally woke up. He had already missed the start of a meeting. He would have to cancel and come up with some excuse again.

Dick looked at Bruce as if it were the first time, his eyes wide and admiring. “You're Batman, the greatest hero in the world. You!”

Bruce gained a red flush and replied “Well I wouldn’t say the greatest. Superman has that title. I wouldn’t really say hero either... More vigilante. I also wouldn't say in the World. Just Gotham.”

“Oh... But you're Batman!”

Bruce finally smiled. “yeah. I am.” He got out of his side of the bed and walked across the room. Dick followed closely, never taking his eyes off his hero. 

“Do you have heaps of cool gadgets in the house? Is here your home base, or do you have another one somewhere? Wheres the batmobile? And the batbike? Do you use the home computer for files and stuff? Because I never found any when I hacked your account... Is two face tall in person? How did you keep this a secret from me anyway? Does Alfred know?”

Dick asked questions all the way to the room with the grandfather clock, and Bruce stayed silent the entire way. Dick didn’t even notice when they passed by the old man just outside Bruce’s door, the green skinned girl with brown hair when they passed the bathroom, the four unknown creeps when they passed Dick’s open door. He didn’t notice when they passed two different creeps Dick had never seen; a man in a pink skirt hanging from the ceiling of the gameroom, and a german shephard with white eyes sitting obediently next to the stairs. Dick only had eyes for Bruce. He saw none of them.

Bruce moved the clock hands and the structure moved to one side. “C’mon.” 

The older descended the stairs with Dick close behind him. When he hit the last step, Dick looked up to be completely mesmerised by the site, and all of his questions were answered for him at once.

There were many cars, or batmobiles, as well as other vehicles lining one wall. A display of his gadgets sat close to his massive computer, which was open to show a large image of two-face with information such as his real name, weight, height, even shoe size. Facing this computer was a figure.

At first Dick thought this figure was another creep, but it was only Alfred. No creeps down here.

Alfred didn’t turn as he spoke to Bruce. “Did you really think it was wise to bring the young master down here?” 

“Yes. He deserved to know.”

Alfred finished what he was doing to storm up to Bruce. He had his face close to the other’s and looked him in the eye. “... Well it’s about bloody time.” and he moved towards the stairs muttering under his breath about how he would have told Dick his first night in the manor if he could have.   
The two were alone down there. Dick could hear his heart beat echo around the cave. He looked at every nook and cranny of the space as if he never would again. The bats lining the cave ceiling, the pits which seemed to go on forever. The seamless way his new father figure combined the natural space with technology in a seemingly impossible way. 

He looked at the back of Bruce’s head while he typed away on the computer, switching from Two-face’s file to another. 

Dick looked into the case which contained 3 batsuits and felt a sense of pride. His adoptive father... The Batman. He still couldn't believe it, even though all of the evidence was right in front of him.

There was a large amount of exercise equipment down there, and Dick just couldn’t help himself. He almost ran over to the familiar horizontal bars and jumped onto the lowest one. He hoisted his legs above his head to complete a handstand, and continued to watch Bruce, as if asking for permission to continue.

Bruce continued typing and said without turning around “Go for it, Dick.” So he did, and for the first time in ages, Dick felt like he was truly at home. 

~~~***

Hours passed by in minutes for the pair. Hours with no creeps, no worries, and the perfect setting. Bruce hadn’t joined Dick, but watched him fly around the space so easily, like a bird on the wind or a fish in water. He was finally where he belonged, and beautiful as he moved. 

Bruce was mesmerised by the younger, the way his body contorted, became smaller, twisted in ways he never thought a body could... He would be perfect on the field.

“Dick” said Bruce when Dick finally broke a sweat.

The younger didn’t stop moving while the conversation continued, but he was listening. He was good like that. “Yeah Bruce?”

“Will you join me? Not tonight, but in the future?”

“Wha--” Dick finally stumbled, his arm bending underneath his body sending him into a crumpled heap on the floor below him. Real smooth Dick.  
There was silence for a moment. “...still want me?”

“yes, i do. You will still need some training of course, and a persona of your own.

“I can do that! Show me now!”

“It will take some time. Just... Don’t tell anyone, okay?” 

“Okay Bruce. I promise.”


End file.
